AIDAstella

The last Sphinx-class cruiseship built for AIDA is AIDAstella, she is seen here from Velsen Noord at the Northsea Canal sailing for Amsterdam at the 22nd of april 2013.

Originally, the Sphinx-class of ships was to be four ships only. But the success of the first ships was so big, that the order was renegotiated and the fourth ship would be enlarged with one extra deck. Besides this, two extra ships were ordered to this new design. At the 12th of august 2010, AIDA Cruises ordered still another ship in the class, this time really the last. Like her sisters, she was built at the northern German yard of Jos L. Meyer and she was built under yardnumber S.695. Under her true name AIDAstella, she left her building dock at the 25th of january 2013 and during the night of the 9th of february, she left the outfitting basin and started her transfer over the river Ems towards the northern German port of Emden. She is the tenth ship in the AIDA Cruises fleet.

The ship measures 71.304 tons, she has a lenght of 253,33 meters, she is 32,20 meters wide and her draft is 7,30 meters. The maximum passengercount on hr twelve passengerdecks is 2500, but on a two-per-cabin basis this number is set at 2174. Also, 646 crewmembers are aboard. The ship flies the Italian flag, due to the link between AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises and her homeport is Genoa. But in everything, the ship is German and caters for German passengers. Just like AIDAmar, the newest addition to the Sphinx-class will have LED-flatscreens within the inside cabins, so when you book an inside cabin, you will still have views of the sea...

For an extra touch of environmentfriendliness (if that's not a word it will be now), the ships ballasttanks are carefully designed so that micro-organisms that are taken in when the ships ballasttanks are filled, will be eliminated so they will not leave the ballasttanks again when they are emptied in another part of the world. This way, they will not be brought over to other environments where they could damage the local ecosystems. AIDAstella is the first ship in the world that is equipped with this kind of system.

AIDAstella left Emden on the so called Clubnight at the 11th of march, sailing for the port of Hamburg. From here, she left on a voyage with fans of AIDA Cruises one day later and she returned to Hamburg at the 14th of march. She was named in the port of Warnemunde at the 16th of that same month. AIDA Cruises is the last years known for its spectacular naming ceremonies, and this again was something special. The ship was christened from inside the Theatrium by not one, two or three godmothers, but by ten godmothers. They christened the ship with the words 'You exquisite ship, we christen you with the name AIDAstella. We wish you, our guests and our crew bon voyage at all times and may there always be water under heel keel.' The selection of these ten godmothers was easy, because the ship is the last ship in the Sphinx-class, this selection was a 'thank you' for all people who helped making the class the succes as it is. Eight of the godmothers are female crewmembers representing all different countries and different departments of AIDA Cruises. One godmother represented the builder, Jos L. Meyer, and one godmother represented the designers, Partner Ship Design. Because of the great weather, some 15.000 spectators attended the event at Warnemunde and watched the moment when the bottle of champagne was smashed at her bow, followed by a gala fireworks display where the AIDA Cruises namings are know for. After her unusual naming, started her normal cruisesailings in northern Europe. In the winter of 2013/2014, the ship be based in southern Europe for cruises around the Canary Islands.